Dear Reader:

In Charleston Magazine’s May Edition…there is an article on my nephew Lee titled “Dream Project.” It is about a dream that came to him months before his wife Vikki announced that she was expecting. In the dream he saw a little boy with big blue eyes, like his, and the scene inspired an album of music about this central theme.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

“It all began with a dream about a baby boy with blue eyes. “I still remember it so vividly,” says Lee Barbour, local jazz guitarist, composer, and owner of music production company Avant Garage. “I put more weight on that dream than I normally would.” Two months later, he and his wife, Vikki Matsis, learned they would be parents. “I felt the dream was a sign that I should do something artistically with the experience,” he recalls.

Barbour’s blue-eyed baby boy, Rhodes, is now a year and a half old. And this month, Ultrasound, the artistic project he inspired, debuts, tracing a family of two’s journey to becoming three. It’s a big departure from Barbour’s last solo release, Nonfiction (2012), and an ambitious undertaking—especially considering that the musician composed, recorded, produced, and mixed everything himself.

Each song has a distinct identity. The first to follow a musical prologue is “Angels Makin Angels,” with a funky, playful structure that seems to represent the very process it describes. Many songs employ audio samples, such as Rhodes’s in-utero heartbeat (on “Safe Now”) and the newborn’s first cry (“Birth”). In “Ms. Emily,” Barbour cleverly transforms a family friend’s reaction to the pregnancy announcement into a hip-hop track. And “A Quarter Of An Inch” is particularly arresting; hearing Barbour’s father recount a Vietnam War firefight, the listener is struck by the delicacy of life, realizing how lucky we are to be here breathing at all.”

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When we look at dreams in the Old and New Testaments we see that Lee’s dream encompassed so many of the same themes recalled by famous men throughout the scriptures. The themes deal with life and death, hopes and fears and promises that God will be with them…no matter what.

Abraham: God used a vision to restate the Abrahamic Covenant,  reminding Abram that he would have a son and be the father of many nations.

Jacob: With his mother’s help, Jacob stole Esau’s firstborn inheritance. Jacob then fled Esau’s anger, and on his journey he had his famous dream of a ladder reaching to heaven on which angels ascended and descended. In this dream Jacob received God’s promise that Abraham’s blessing would be carried on through him.

Samuel: Samuel had his first vision as a young boy. God told him that judgment was coming upon the sons of Samuel’s mentor, Eli. The young Samuel was faithful to relay the information, and God continued to speak to Samuel through the rest of his life.

Daniel: As He had done for Joseph, God placed Daniel in a position of power and influence by allowing him to interpret a foreign ruler’s dream. This is consistent with God’s propensity to use miracles to identify His messengers. Daniel himself had many dreams and visions, mostly related to future kingdoms of the world and the nation of Israel.

***Two famous dreams dealt with future heirs and the talents that would lie within each…plus God’s  protection that would surround each one growing up. (*Lee, this bodes well for Rhodes!)

Zacharias: God used a vision to tell Zacharias, an old priest, that he would soon have an important son. Not long after, Zacharias and his wife, Elizabeth, had John the Baptist.

Joseph: Joseph would have divorced Mary when he found out she was pregnant, but God sent an angel to him in a dream, convincing him that the pregnancy was of God. Joseph went ahead with the marriage. After Jesus was born, God sent two more dreams, one to tell Joseph to take his family to Egypt so Herod could not kill Jesus and another to tell him Herod was dead and that he could return home.

Article: “How did God use dreams and visions in the Bible?”

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So until tomorrow…Congratulations Lee on another successful album and continuing your passion for your music and your family!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh